Editing Services

Every writer knows that the writing process doesn’t stop with ‘THE END’. As an editor, my goal is to make sure that your voice is heard in the most effective possible way. We’ll work as partners to keep true to the characters you’ve created and the story they need to tell us, polish the work you’ve built so that it can shine on its own. If you’re curious, you can check out some of my client’s work here.As an indie author myself…I get it. Everyone on Twitter is screaming at you to find an editor AND a cover designer AND a publisher; it all gets overwhelming quickly. Not to mention that it’s all really expensive and as indie writers, we are our own business – just trying to make a living doing what we love. That’s why I want to provide services at special prices just for other indie authors; my goal is to support the community that I’m a part of. I’m different from some other editors as well in that I don’t have a rule about what I will or won’t edit. Many romance editors, for example, have a requirement that they want “romance with no qualifiers” – give me whatever kind of romance you’ve written, no holds barred. I love it all. I’m an avid reader and I read across all genres, so I’m happy to edit any as well. Your kinks don’t scare me!

Sidenote: I’m queer and enby. We can discuss a sensitivity read as part of your services if you’re brave and awesome enough to request one. Trust me, your readers appreciate the effort.With many editors you’ll get 3 options:

Line editing – looking for errors in mechanics and sentence structure.

Copy editing – tied closely to line editing but a bit more big picture in that we’re looking at clarity, flow, dialogue, even specific word choice. This usually also includes the technical bits like fact checking and review for plagiarism.

Developmental editing – this is an opportunity to help you focus the story and conflict, review character development, evaluate plot and POV.

Usually each of these has an individual charge with developmental editing being the most expensive portion, as it is most critical. Instead, I provide a service that will include all three steps in the editing process for one fee that is lower than the industry rates, where you could easily pay $2400 for a 120k word manuscript.

Prices are based on total manuscript word count.

My rates are $0.002 per word up to 150k words (industry standards are $0.008 for line editing and up to $0.02 per word for developmental editing).

For example, for an 85k word manuscript, the total fee is $170; for 120k words, it’s $240.

Manuscripts over 150k words will be subject to an additional charge.

I charge less for quality work because I know what being an indie writer is like, and I want you to be able to tell your story!

The ProcessBelow, you’ll find a form for you to fill out to begin the free consultation. You can expect a response to this, including a quote and any questions I may have, within two business days. If for some reason I am unavailable for a period of time, you’ll receive an automated email letting you know right away. After you accept the services and quote based on the consultation, I’ll send you a contract to sign and email back to me along with a deposit. Edits begin! You relax (or at least try to) and I’ll put in the work on your manuscript. What you’ll get back will be a marked-up document, changes tracked and notes made as well as questions asked where needed. Then it’s your turn to apply changes (or not), make additional notes or questions as you have them, and then return it. We can do this for multiple rounds until I send you back a finished document.

Specifics

Please format your manuscript with a standard font (Times New Roman, Arial, Courier) and 12-point type; double space the entire document and use 1” margins all the way around

Submit using Word, Google Docs, or Open Office documents. I do have a preference for Word because Track Changes makes everything easier on both of us. If you don’t have access to any of these programs, please let me know with your initial email.

Timelines will depend on everything from genre and the amount of edits needed to your writing style. We will also go back and forth for at least one round of edits while you make suggested changes, ask questions, etc. This can go on for a couple weeks and will depend on your needs. I can offer rush services for additional fee, but please let me know up front.

I will do a free consultation with you to talk about your project and your specific needs, such as timeline. After the consultation, I do require a 25% deposit once the contract for services has been signed. Another 25% is required at the time that the document is returned to the author for the first round of edits. The remaining 50% is due before the final manuscript is returned.

I accept (and prefer) PayPal. If you need to use a money order, I can accept that as well.

DisclaimerI’m good at what I do (you can see what my client have said about working with me here) and I’ve been doing it for a long time in multiple industries. No editor can totally guarantee that your manuscript will be completely error free. In this industry, the generally accepted “mistake rate” is between 1 and 10 errors per every 1000 words. Please remember that editing and proofreading are different! A proofreader is given a manuscript that is nearly perfect to put final touches on and maybe make some formatting changes. PLEASE have your manuscript proofread before publishing, even if you have sent it off to be edited. I cannot guarantee that your book will sell, make you the next Best Seller or millionaire author, or that you’ll be picked up by a publishing house.